--- title: "NASA’s New Moon Lander Is Turning Into a Disaster" description: "NASA's new Moon lander may have made a relatively safe landing, but all indications point to it being less successful than initially thought." date: "2024-02-26" modified: "2024-02-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-odysseus-moon-lander-disaster" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "moon" - "moon landers" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA’s New Moon Lander Is Turning Into a Disaster ![NASA's new Moon lander may have made a relatively safe landing, but all indications point to it being less successful than initially thought.]() *\Image: Intuitive Machines / Futurism\* ## Lunar Blues NASA's new Moon lander may have touched down in one piece, but the story keeps getting more embarrassing and underwhelming for the space agency. Intuitive Machines, the company that built the Odysseus lander, said in a series of updates posted [on its website]() and [on X]() that although the craft is online and beaming images back to Earth, its operators believe it won't be able to keep up communications for much longer. "Flight controllers intend to collect data until the lander’s solar panels are no longer exposed to light," the statement reads. "Based on Earth and Moon positioning, we believe flight controllers will continue to communicate with Odysseus until Tuesday morning." In other words, in spite of just landing a few days ago, the lander is already almost cooked — the latest piece of bad news for the mission, which was supposed to demonstrate the power of hiring independent contractors to shuttle cargo to the Moon. https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status/1762111937490378942 ## Landed Obsolescence Built with NASA funding and launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this month, Odysseus has been plagued with problems since liftoff. During its weeklong flight, which Intuitive Machines' CEO and co-founder Steve Altemus referred to as "spicy" in one press conference, the lander had some [issues with its positioning lasers](), which lead to its controllers having to implement some [experimental NASA tech]() to land it safely. Although it fared better than the *other* privately-built Moon lander NASA launched earlier this year — Astrobotic's Peregrine, which [burned up in Earth's atmosphere]() before making it anywhere near the Moon — Odysseus did immediately [topple onto its side](), as its controllers hypothesize, tripping over a rock on the lunar surface. During its frenzied descent, the lander's operators also [chose not to deploy]() its student-built camera, though it did shoot and beam back some photos as it landed. Add it all up and it's not a pretty picture. NASA's two Moon missions this year were supposed to show that private contractors could deliver goods to the lunar surface, but instead one was completely destroyed and the other one fell over and is now dying early. Success, of course, is in the eye of the beholder — but considering how hard NASA's been pushing its public-private partnerships as it reenters its lunar era, this doesn't feel like a home run. **More on the Moon:** [*China Announces Name of Spacecraft Landing Crew on Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()